Fifteen years ago this month, the Green Bay Packers found themselves in a precarious position entering the draft. They were looking to move on to a new quarterback while the old guard wasn’t totally out the door just yet. That year, Ted Thompson came away with a number of offensive weapons for Aaron Rodgers, while also hedging his bets by selecting two quarterbacks. It remains to be seen what approach Brian Gutekunst will take in 2023, but a decade and a half of distance provides an interesting perspective on a not totally dissimilar situation.
The Packers entered the 2008 draft with the 30th pick in the first round, having come off a 13-3 record in the regular season before a disappointing loss to Tom Coughlin’s frozen face and the New York Giants the season before. Brett Favre had announced his retirement in early March of 2008, which allowed Thompson and the Green Bay organization time to prepare for an Rodgers-led future. When the time came to select a first-round pick, Thompson did not love the value on the board and opted to move back six picks in a trade with the New York Jets, of all teams, adding a fourth-rounder in the process. That pick, No. 36, just so happened to turn into Jordy Nelson, who would become a Super Bowl champ and have a legendary career.
Could Gutekunst do the same thing with his first-round pick in this year’s draft? It’s one thing to trade back from No. 30 into the early second round. But passing on the talent likely to be available at No. 15 wouldn’t be the most popular move in the fanbase, especially given some of the specific needs that the Packers could address. The only move more unpopular would be what Thompson did with his second second-round pick in 2008: draft a quarterback.
After being touted as a top prospect in the 2007 NFL Draft, Brian Brohm returned to Louisville for his senior season and had an underwhelming, mediocre campaign. That allowed his draft stock to slide, falling to the second round where Thompson grabbed him with the 56th-overall pick. It’s easy to imagine Cheeseheads rioting in the streets outside of Lambeau Field if Gutekunst passed up on the ability to add to positions of need to bring in competition for Jordan Love by selecting a quarterback in the second round. The Packers should (and likely will) draft a quarterback as competition later on Day 2 or on Day 3. But using prime draft capital on a quarterback would not be a popular move.
After an underwhelming pick at the end of the second round in cornerback Pat Lee, Thompson came right back to the offensive side of the ball in selecting Jermichael Finley with pick 91. Finley was one of the best tight ends in franchise history when healthy, but an unfortunate spinal cord injury cut short a promising career in 2013. In that moment, though, it was a perfect example of Thompson adding weapons to Rodgers’ arsenal.
The highlights from the rest of the draft included taking Josh Sitton, a rock-solid offensive lineman in the fourth round, and then Matt Flynn as another quarterback pick in the seventh round. In hindsight, the BCS-winning collegiate national champion proved to be the much better NFL quarterback than the bigger, stronger Brohm. Were Flynn the only quarterback the Packers took in 2008, that draft would have been remembered even more fondly than it already is.
How is it remembered? Coming away with key pieces of a Super Bowl-wining roster two and a half years later in guys like Nelson, Finley, and Sitton certainly helps pave over some of the missteps. In reality, it was Ted Thompson hedging his bets. Moving back for a guy like Jordy Nelson was wise, since no wideouts went in the first round. But then coming back 20 picks later with quarterback competition? Brohm was likely the best player remaining, considering how high he had been on many draft boards the year before. But it was hardly seen as a ringing vote of confidence for Rodgers at the time.
Whatever quarterback that the Packers bring in certainly won’t be viewed as a threat to Jordan Love. Instead, he will be a necessary backup with some potential intrigue from the future. The best lesson that Gutekunst can learn is to invest in the type of offensive support that can help your new starting quarterback look good. It also wouldn’t hurt to add a few other starters in the process. Easier said than done, obviously. But Gutekunst would be certainly wise to invest all the support he can in Jordan Love, as their futures will be intertwined in Packers lore forever.
